Vikings sweep into finals

The players on the Lakewood volleyball team put themselves one win away from a Class B state championship Thursday night, defeating Dearborn Divine Child in the state semifinals 25-22, 25-9, 25-21.

"It's wonderful to have a shot, especially with this group of seniors," Lakewood coach Kellie Rowland said. "They have made a lot of sacrifices and have worked hard. They never bat an eye no matter what I ask of them and now they are one step away from a state title.

"We have one more practice to get ready for that step."

The Vikings had to battle in the first set as they tried to adjust to the Falcons speed of attack. After having to go through teams in the district and regional rounds that pound the ball, Lakewood had tot change up its timing on defense. However, they survived to win game one.In the second, Lakewood began to take over jumping out to an 18-6 advantage en route to a 16-point victory.

The Falcons fell behind again in the third, but didn't quit as they battled back, but in the end, the No. 1 ranked Vikings kept their composer and finished the match.

The Vikings had to earn wins over No. 7 Wayland Union in the districts tournament, then No. 6 Holland Christian and No. 3 Forest Hills Eastern to take the regional crown. Senior Jordan Kietzman said going through those teams makes their run to the state finals more rewarding.

"Having to play all of those ranked teams makes it feel so much better," she said. " It shows hard work really pays off."

Senior hitters Emily Kutch and Olivia Davis led the Lakewood attack with 15 kills while senior setter Brooke Wieland finished with 31 assists and six aces. Beth Tingley led the serve receive with 14 digs and Taylor Shook and Davis each earned three blocks.

Divine Child was led on offense by Jasmine DeMare and Morgan Blair, who finished with seven kills each, while Megan Mancini dished out 20 assists. Morgan Blair scored on three aces, while Christina Porada earned eight digs and Riley Blair collected two blocks.

The No. 1 ranked Vikings (51-4) will now take on No. 2 North Branch (67-7-1) in the Class B state championship game on Saturday at Kellogg Arena. The match is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.